The sternum, or breastbone, is a long flat bone in the upper middle of the front of the chest. The sternum actually consists of three separate bones that may partially or completely fuse together: the manubrium (the upper section of the sternum), the corpus or body (the longer middle section of the sternum to which the ribs are joined), and the xiphisternum or xiphoid process (the cartilaginous extension, usually ossified in adults, that forms the bottom section of the sternum).
The sternum, together with the rib cage, serves to protect vital organs such as the heart and lungs from damage. Thus, in cases where access to one of these vital organs is needed, such as for open heart surgery, a longitudinal incision is typically made along a midline of the sternum, and the two resulting portions of the sternum may be forced apart to allow the surgeon to gain access to the patient's thoracic cavity.
Once the procedure is complete, the dissected portions of the sternum must be held together in a closed configuration to allow the bone and tissue to heal. In some cases, however, the sternotomy must be re-done at a later date as a result of a complication from the first surgery or a subsequent issue that arises. Depending on how the sternum was closed, it is sometimes difficult to determine a location for the second incision and/or gain quick access to the thoracic cavity once it has been closed following the first sternotomy.
Accordingly, there is a need for a system and method for longitudinally closing dissected sternums that is safe, reproducible, simple to administer, causes the least amount of pain to the patient, and provides for easy re-entry to the thoracic cavity in the event a second procedure is necessary.